e., than
ourselves.] which indicates dependency, we must conclude that God is
in no manner possessed of senses, and that he only understands and
wills, not, however, like us, by acts in any way distinct, but
always by an act that is one, identical, and the simplest possible,
understands, wills, and operates all, that is, all things that in
reality exist; for he does not will the evil of sin, seeing this is
but the negation of being.
XXIV. That in passing from the knowledge of God to the knowledge of
the creatures, it is necessary to remember that our understanding is
finite, and the power of God infinite.
But as we know that God alone is the true cause of all that is or
can be, we will doubtless follow the best way of philosophizing, if,
from the knowledge we have of God himself, we pass to the
explication of the things which he has created, and essay to deduce
it from the notions that are naturally in our minds, for we will
thus obtain the most perfect science, that is, the knowledge of
effects through their causes. But that we may be able to make this
attempt with sufficient security from error, we must use the
precaution to bear in mind as much as possible that God, who is the
author of things, is infinite, while we are wholly finite.
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